One of the most common goals we see amongst Google Grants applicants is securing donations. A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published a brief article regarding online giving, and we thought it could provide some valuable insights for our grantees. In their article they note both the pros and cons associated with online donors (i.e. online donors tend to be better educated and have a higher income than their offline counterparts however, they also tend to only give only once whereas offline donors are more apt to give repeatedly).

We think that this article underscores the importance of using a Google Grants account for more than simply soliciting donations. Indeed, we have noticed that the Google Grants recipients, which tend to get the most out of their accounts, do so by broadening their marketing efforts to include a variety of goals such as recruiting volunteers, raising awareness about their cause, promoting events, driving free newsletter sign ups, and other strategies that engage Google users beyond procuring a monetary donation. Later, this already engaged constituency, may be more apt to donate their time, money, or resources to an organization, which they already know and trust.

Because so many of you are interested in using your Google Grant to raise money, we thought you might be interested in reading this article and the accompanying study done by Target Analytics. Please note that Target Analytics is offering a free downloadable report of their findings and a free follow up webinar on April 16, 2009 to discuss their research. We hope you find this information useful as you continue to manage your Google Grants account.